Sheep Bred For Grass-Based Dairy

Sheep Bred For Grass-Based Dairy 30-5-7 Milking sheep in northern Wisconsin requires a special kind of sheep, says Mary Falk. Falk, with her husband Dave, has been developing a hardy breed of dairy sheep that thrives on grass with no grain. "We've been working on our sheep breed for 20 generations now," she says. "At first we were aiming for the organic lamb market so we started with Romney Marsh, Dorset Horn, Finnsheep and Clun Forest blood lines." Along the way, the Falks took a detour when they were exposed to the idea of milking sheep. Ten years later, they now operate a milking sheep herd and market organic, aged sheep cheese. "Our ewes don't produce as much milk as Friesians (the Holstein of milking sheep), but we have a much higher butterfat, and our sheep are much more hardy," says Falk. "We average about 3 lbs. of milk per day on twice-a-day milking for about 220 days. However, the milk averages 7.5 percent butterfat." That butterfat is ideal for making high-quality cheese that the Falks make right on the farm. They have won numerous industry awards over the years, and their cheese has been featured in national publications and radio interviews. Falk insists that key to success of their breeding flock and the quality cheese they make is the fact that the flock is totally grass fed, no grain. The hardiness they have bred in means the only night of the year they are inside is the night they lamb. That also reduces overhead for buildings and expenses for producing or purchasing organic grain. Market lambs are sold privately for $1.75/lb. live weight plus processing, mostly to cheese customers. The Falks haul them to a USDA-inspected meat processor where the lamb is dry aged, European style, for two to three weeks. "The meat is like velvet when you eat it," she says. "Lamb is like cheese; as it ages, it changes texture and flavor. The flavor is concentrated when you take out the water, and because the lambs are slaughtered at 75 to 89 lbs., there is less connective tissue." While they keep the highest production ewe lambs for their milking flock, they don't need many. Having bred for hardiness, they have ewes in their milking flock as old as 14 years. Replacement ewes, depending on their production genetics, sell for $475 to $1,000 each. The high-end price is for only the highest production potential and selected ram lambs. An unexpected feature of the selection process has been the wool fleece. While not selected for their wool, the flock produces a 4 to 5-in. length, very fine fiber wool with a high staple count and a luster similar to Shetland sheep. "We sell the best wool to spinners and all the tags, belly wool and wool with burs in it for use as mulch around plants," says Falk. "My cheese customers at the farmers' market claim it keeps the rabbits and squirrels away from their gardens and potted plants." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mary Falk, LoveTree Farmstead Cheese, 12413 Cty. Rd. "Z", Grantsburg, Wis. 54840 (ph 715 488-2966; fax 715 488-3957; lovetree@grantsburgtelcom.net; www.lovetreefarmstead.com).

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